Appalachian Ski Mountain dropped another 9" on their reported base depth from Thursday morning and now are reporting one to two feet of base on 8 of 11 trails. Two of their three terrain parks are open as well. Appalachian will operate today, Saturday and Sunday and then close for the season. Be sure to check out their closing Meltdown Games activities that we’ve posted at the bottom of today’s FirsTrax news.
Cataloochee Ski Area will reopen Saturday morning and ride Saturday and Sunday.
THE LAST WEEKEND OF THE SEASON LOOKS "MASTERFUL"
With the Master’s Golf Tournament going on down in azalea-laden Augusta, Jawja I couldn’t resist my reference to a "masterful" weekend of weather ahead. It will be gorgeous with nothing but tons of sunshine and highs around 50° today, 60° on Saturday and then mid to upper 60s on Sunday. Overnight lows are forecasted to be pretty chilly but I really don’t think we’ll see the frigid temps that some local forecasters are predicting.
Some local forecasters are calling for temps in the mid to upper 20s for tonight and Saturday night. They forecasted that for last night and thankfully they were wrong as the low this morning is from 34° to 39° across the region. The NWS is forecasting lows around 32-33° for tonight and then closer to 40° for Saturday night so I think if we can miss the freeze tonight we should be "home free" with no more frigid temps in sight.
SUNNY AND WARM WEATHER AHEAD…IT’S TIME FOR SOME CAMERA INSTALLATIONS!
< The top position marker shows the range of view for the new Beech Mountain Realty Cam being installed next week.
The marker at the bottom of the photo shows the old location of the Beech Mountain Parkway cam.
We have two new cameras going up around Watauga Lake next Tuesday and one new webcam being installed at Leatherwood Mountains in Fleetwood. The latter camera will show off some beautiful views and lots of beautiful horses over in the "horse-loving" community of Leatherwood Mountains. The lake cams will be positioned to show the aquamarine waters of Watauga Lake for atop the Captain’s Table in Hampton and we’ll place another one at Lakeshore Marina. If you’re a fan of the lake, you’ll love these cams as they’ll offer a great way to see what’s happening over there before driving over from the High Country or points north.
Wilson King from high atop Beech Mountain owns Beech Mountain Realty and Beech Meadows Ski Shop right on Beech Mountain Parkway – has decided to partner with HighCountryWebCams.com and SkiSoutheast.com /SkiNC.com to install a brand new Beech Mountain Cam that will provide great views of Beech Mountain Parkway around Vasarely’s, Brick Oven and up toward’s the Pinnacle Inn.
Stay tuned for more announcements and pass the word to all of your fellow, mountain-loving friends that www.HighCountryWebCams.com continues to grow.
We’ll be adding to the beach cams via www.LowCountryWebCams.com so be sure keep checking that new camera website.
SOME END OF SEASON RAVES AND RANTS FORTHCOMING…
Joe Stevens posted his end of season annual "Snowies" a week or two ago and mentioned some nice "attaboys" for the weather, visitors and weather peeps. Sometime within the next week be sure to check back for our own take on how the season went and what kind of wishes we’d like to see for future seasons and some complaints here and there.
DON’T FORGET THAT APPALACHIAN IS HOSTING THE MELTDOWN GAMES THIS WEEKEND!
Here’s the schedule:
Appalachian’s classic end of the winter celebration is taking place later than ever before, on Saturday, April 10 & Sunday, April 11, 2010. A full weekend of crazy events you won’t see any other time of the year, with lots of snow, sun, and skin.
All events are free with your ski ticket. Take your best shot at tons of prize categories. Thanks to all the event sponsors who made these games possible: Skullcandy, Atomic, Red Bull, Burton, Forum, Smith Optics, Salomon, Spyder, 686, Rip Curl, Nordica, Volcom, Electric, Roxy, Dragon, Mental, Dakine, Line, 686, Rossignol, Spy, Bern, Screamer, Wigwam, Seirus, Kombi, POW, and Chaos.
Here’s the latest schedule of activities and fun:
09-10 Winter Meltdown Games Schedule:
Saturday, April 10
-10:30am –The Impossible Box Contest
-11:30am -Cardboard Box Derby
-4:00pm – Trash Bag Downhill Race
Sunday, April 11
-10:30am – High Ollie Contest
-1:00pm – Ski and Snowboard Big Air
-4:00pm – Chinese Downhill
09-10 Meltdown Games Prize Categories:
The Impossible Box Contest:
-12 and Under Best Grind (Snowboard)
-12 and Under Best Grind (Ski)
-13 and Over Best Grind (Ski)
-13 and Over Best Grind (Snowboard)
Cardboard Box Derby:
-Most Original Box Design
-Fastest Box
Big Air:
-Intermediate Ski 1st
-Intermediate Ski 2nd
-Intermediate Ski 3rd
-Intermediate Snowboard 1st
-Intermediate Snowboard 2nd
-Intermediate Snowboard 3rd
-Advanced Ski 1st
-Advanced Ski 2nd
-Advanced Ski 3rd
-Advanced Snowboard 1st
-Advanced Snowboard 2nd
-Advanced Snowboard 3rd
-Womens Ski 1st
-Womens Ski 2nd
-Womens Ski 3rd
-Womens Snowboard 1st
-Womens Snowboard 2nd
-Womens Snowboard 3rd
Trash Bag Downhill:
-12 and Under Fastest Finish
-13 and Over Fastest Finish
High Ollie:
-12 and Under 1st
-12 and Under 2nd
-12 and Under 3rd
-13 and Over 1st
-13 and Over 2nd
-13 and Over 3rd
Chinese Downhill
-12 and Under Fastest Finish
-13 and Over Fastest Finish
We’re on day 134 and there are 3 more days of opportunities to enjoy the snow for the 2009-2010 ski and snowboarding season!
Go enjoy the snow! Check out the Snow Report at https://www.skisoutheast.com/skireports.php and please send us your favorite ski photos, ski videos, trip reports and comments to
[email protected]